A Thousand Years
by Ryder Bellamiren
Summary: Days, weeks, months, years... Time has no meaning for those labeled immortal. In an age of government control and surveillence, can two immortals find what they have been missing for centuries? Only time and a pre-destined meeting will tell. Rated T. Mentions character deaths and pranks. Not for those without an open outlook; has slight yaoi and imprinting. Flamers will be roasted.


**A/N:** Okay. What the hell is this? It randomly jumped me as I was listening to the song that has the same name as this and _**BAM!**_ my brain produced this. I don't think I've ever seen this pairing before... Oh well. If you want it done, you have to do it yourself, yeah?

**DISCLAIMER:** If I owned Sesshomaru, I wouldn't let him go. Therefore, I don't own either series.

**WARNING:** This has two men interested in one another aka _**YAOI**_. If you can't stand that, click the pretty back button. If you don't care and love is love anyway, you're welcome to enjoy.

_**A Thousand Years**_

Jacob stared out the window at the thick forest that passed by the car window. Oh, how long it's been since he's seen an actual forest... He was tempted to stick his face out in the wind, but the stern look of his associate made him huff.

"You don't want to arrive windblown to this man's house." the clipped English has an odd lilt to it, Japanese this man's primary tongue. "He demands perfection, does Sesshomaru-sama."

"So? We're both something that's not supposed to exist. You tell me why I can't behave like the dog I am." he shot back at the human. Time has made him older, wiser but the pain of losing his pack as he couldn't stop the shift hurt most of all. What was worse? Human governments deciding that those who were deemed 'Immortalis' had to be closely watched for signs of world take-over. Occasionally they planned meetings like this. Jake was the only shifter left after a thousand years and the Cold Ones were good at hiding themselves. He's uncomfortable in the stiff black suit, as this is the first time he's worn it. He found himself perusing the report the IRT (Immortalis Reconnaissance Team) had on his fellow immortal. This Sesshomaru guy had been around long before he had even been born and probably would be long after he managed to stop shifting. He laughed at the scowling picture in the profile, intrigued by the magenta streaks and the blue crescent moon that enhanced the pale face.

"You dare laugh at him?"

"The guy looks pissed. Hey, I bet you he found my picture amusing too. I wasn't exactly in the mood either when I was forced to take that picture a hundred years ago."

"All Immortalis are required to have one photo taken." came the sharp retort.

"Yeah. Doesn't mean we like it or even want it taken. We're people too, you know, we just live a lot longer than everyone else." he answered back without heat, his gaze wandering back to the thick forest and the undergrowth.

"Do you not pay attention to those who are conversing with you?" The clipped English becomes even more so, as if the Agent escorting him has just about had it.

"Normally? No. But you try to have a wolf in you and not get lost in the feel of this forest. It's ancient. Smells like fresh spring grass." Jake had finally given in and cracked the window a bit. "What I wouldn't give to shred this suit and run for days in there..."

"The animal within is always this close to the surface?"

"Nah. It's been a long time since I smelled genuine forest though. Last time was in 2012 or something close." Shutting the window, his wolf satisfied with a small taste of the forest. "Are you... always this uptight? 'Cause the IRT knows I don't handle stiffs like you."

"My colleagues thought it was amusing to place me with the laid-back Immortalis."

"Oh, that's rude. Mind if I give them a piece of my mind after this visit?" he gave his companion a smirk, leaning back as the suit adjusted and became more comfortable. Alice had been right; but then again, she usually was. "Unless it'd cause you problems. I wouldn't want to cause that." The merciless shark grin he got in return assured him it wouldn't be one. "Excellent. So, now that we have a plan, you have someone?"

"My wife and eight year old son. Yourself?"

"Nothing. My kind had a peculiar way of finding mates and I haven't met mine. Probably won't the way things have been going." he admitted. Damn imprinting.

"'Had'? What do you mean had?"

"I'm the last of my kind." Jacob explained softly as they stopped in front of the ornate Japanese palace. "I think I'd know." Silence was all that greeted him when he shifted to wolf form. Yes, he was the only one left.

**-PoV-**

Sesshomaru scowled at the Agent standing nervously by his side, sneering at the fidgeting movement. Hmm, why did he bother with this whole business again?

"This Sesshomaru demands to know why you are moving so much."

"We sent the resident stiff with the laid-back Immortalis." Ah, that would be his reason. He was not as stiff or as stoic as he had been for generations.

"Then this Sesshomaru declares you a fool. Never set foot on my grounds again." His sensitive ears picked up a laugh that sounded smooth and masculine, which was joined by another as the Immortalis and Agent stepped from the car.

The photo taken had done the wolf absolutely no justice. Silky black hair swayed in time with the stride that just about flaunted almost every muscle the other immortal had. Warm tawny eyes almost the same color as his own wrinkled at the corners, laughing the way the Agent was making violent hand-gestures. One of them looked vaguely like a strangling; Sesshomaru already liked the man.

"Really? I'd just drug his coffee and wait for the office test." came the melodious baritone speaking English. There was a hint at another language not often used but it was not something he'd come across in all of his long years.

"So simple. I am not sure it will work." the flat countertenor had little emotion behind it. A controlled human or one in control of his inflection and emotions? Interesting.

"Yeah. That's what makes it so evil, see? The more complex it is, the less tangled it is. Simple's the way to go. Trust me. Hello. You must be Sesshomaru-sama." the flawless switch from English to Japanese was clearly intentional.

"This Sesshomaru finds you interesting. Leave us." was directed at the humans with a sneer. The nervous one fled and the calm one nodded briefly.

"As the great Taisho commands." This mortal would have a job in his employ sooner rather than later. Proper respect was not something he encountered on a daily basis.

"How is it you speak fluently?" he questioned, allowing the sharp mask he kept up to fall away.

"A Cold One taught me. She's a vampire in your terms." came the amused reply, amber eyes taking in the Palace of the Western Lord. "Your forest is amazing. Might I take a run?"

"You have another form?" Intriguing; the file had not mentioned such in the skim he'd given it.

"Wolf. You haven't touched the file." The immortal's russet skin looked to be as soft as silk. Nor had the restless gaze landed on his eyes the entire time he'd been inside.

"This Sesshomaru would like you to look at him properly."

"Mmm, you're Alpha here." the lazy but respecting reply had him irritated.

"I don't repeat myself." he growled lowly, poison slicking his claws as it hadn't in centuries. This day was shaping up to be the most interesting since his Henian days...

"I was Alpha before my kind disappeared." the second answer was laced with heartache. Far too much for such a sweet pup. Kami, was he getting nogistalgic? He sincerely hoped not.

"...Please?" Sesshomaru spoke with honesty.

"Okay. But you asked me to." Warm tawny eyes met his and his yokai flared as a Mate Bond snapped into existence. "No. Why now?" the slip back to English was most likely a reflex.

"Why what?" he responded in the same language, not liking the way it sounded when he spoke. It was the one foreign tongue that sounded dirty when he managed to direct his voice in the right manner.

"My kind... We had a way of continuing our Pack. It was called imprinting. I gave up hope five hundred _years_ ago... I don't understand." A frown marred the perfect brow as the younger male thought.

"Perhaps it would help if this Sesshomaru explained yokai mating?"

"Sure."

"Yokai can breed male to male, female to female if the desire for cubs is strong enough. I cannot say the same for your kind but this Sesshomaru will assume you want cubs."

"You'll _assume_ I want cubs? Oh, that's been a dream for a long, long time."

"When?" Now he was simply curious.

"Since 2045. I realized even if I had any with someone I didn't love, they wouldn't shift like I did. The Cold Ones knew that coming around the reservation would cause the Pack to expand even more. The last time I had a full pack was sometime around 2025. They all stopped shifting, aged and eventually died." So much sadness for one so young was uncalled for; Kami, had the world not cut this one a break? Here he was, unfamiliar male and a Mate Bond the wolf had not thought possible. Yes, he would soothe the hurt. But it was time that would heal those particular scars.

"Hmph. This Sesshomaru will see to it that you stay longer than the IRT planned." His reputation as a ruthless bastard would be destroyed. Eh, but that was easily regained.

**-PoV-**

Jacob blinked owlishly at his imprint before he smiled. The dog demon replied with the faintest curving of coral lips.

"This Sesshomaru approves of your smile. You should do so more often." The third person speech pattern was one he wasn't used to but it was easy to pick up.

"Oh. Why do you speak like that?" he asked as he followed the shorter male into yet another ornate room.

"I can be plebian if it suits me. However, I am used to old ways of speaking that are no longer used. Excuse me if I drop into the habit around humans. They still disgust me slightly. To answer your question, Black-San, I was once Lord of the Western Lands. What you stand upon now is all that the humans have allowed me to have." came the nonchalant reply as the dog demon went through the motions of making tea. The fact that the conversation was Japanese (for his host) and English solidified Jake's theory as to multiple languages learned over the years. It really was the best way to get around.

"Jacob. Mr. Black was my Dad." he made a face at that. "This probably the weirdest conversation I've had to date."

"That is your given name. I scanned the file. Why do you not ask for your... nickname? I am aware you prefer that." Sesshomaru answered, flicking open the manila folder with a sharp claw. Ugh, what was it with official folders and being boring colors? "Likewise. English is... dirty. I find it has too much slang."

"You didn't seem the type to address so informally." he admitted frankly, inhaling the soft chamomile and jasmine blend. "Are those actual tea leaves? Wow."

"Hmm, I still prefer finer quality things to a certain extent. I deliberately choose things the Agents will not understand nor have ever had. This world is more forbidding with every century that passes. Forests die out and come back with violently repressed creatures inhabiting them. It is a terrible time." Golden eyes flashed with a sadness so deep it could cut before they lightened again. "Come. We shall visit the Higurashi shrine. I will tell you a tale long past."

LINE

After removing his shoes (he did have manners), he bowed to the Higurashi family and was surprised when both of them were invited to dinner.

"Why did they-"

"Invite us? They can feel us, our difference. I also sponsor the temple in a long-winded attempt at keeping my brother's resting place in peace."

"Your brother? Oh." Yeah, didn't his Pack pale in comparison to that?

"Do not feel sorrow. It has been a millennia and a half since he passed. I merely wish to keep what remains of him safe. How long has it been?"

"Almost nine hundred. The thing is, Sesshomaru, we could communicate with our minds. All I hear now when I transform is silence. It's gotten easier..." The Pack had never been easy to explain to anyone on the outside. The Agents knew not to ask after so many years.

"You miss your Pack. It is understandable. Yet it seems you have a pseudo-Pack to have held up for this long." There was a question to his stiff statement as they reached the biggest tree Jake had ever seen.

"The vampires who forced my transformation in the first place. Alice is the one I see the most, but yeah, they're there when I need them."

"I see." He smelled the flowers in the dog demon's hand and followed him silently to a spot under the great tree. "He always did like red." The flowers were roses, but a shade of deep crimson. "Father gifted him with the robes of a fire-rat. It is something you will not find in this day and age. Most yokai are either dead or have blended in far better than I could have. Higher ranking yokai have a harder time concealing their power. It is why I allowed myself to be caught by the IRT. I admit to missing immortal company. There is another Japanese immortal but he keeps mostly to himself. Kami must have known that we would need the semblance of a Pack by now."

"Allowed yourself to be caught?" Jacob laughed quietly, glancing at their silent companion every now and again. "We have a shadow."

"Jaken, come forth."

"Sesshomaru-sama! You have regained your lands?"

"Hmph. Useless _worm_. Get out of this Sesshomaru's sight."

"But the Inu no Taisho-"

"Is long past and buried you fool." The tone was one that said he was clearly irked and if this Jaken guy didn't clear out in another second, he'd be mush.

"My apologies!"

"Lies." A booted foot kicked the odd creature back into the forest with the force of a super-powered punt. "My former servant."

"I'd punt him too. Looks like a lot of fun actually." he answered after laughing his ass off. "Dinner?"

"Ah. So it is that."

LINE

Jake hummed as he savored the first bite of what seemed to be bits of fish stuck to rice and wrapped in seaweed. He analyzed the flavor for several milliseconds that no human would be able to sense before he swallowed with a grin.

"Unusual, but very good. I can't believe I haven't tried it." he murmured to Sesshomaru, watching with slight amusement as their Hostess blushed a shade he didn't think was possible. "Or it's just been a really long time since I had salmon."

"Most likely the former. Your English has an accent I cannot place."

"I'm a Native American, or Quileute to my tribe. I take it you haven't left Japan?" Sharp golden eyes eerily similar to his own narrowed in thought.

"No, though I have encountered a great deal by staying where I am. Edo is still very much a trade-city and very important even now."

"Wow. You really are from a different time. It's not always obvious but... when it is, it's pretty important."

Sesshomaru favored him with a mild scowl, "I am well aware of the city's name. I simply chose to use one I was familiar with."

"Semantics. So you've really never been away from here?" Jacob waved it off easily, waiting for the answer.

"I took one trip to the Mainland. I killed a dragon there and did not appreciate the insipid awe I inspired in the common folk."

"Huh. Wanna see where I grew up?"

**Ending A/N:** And... My Muse died right after this. Pathetic, no? I shouldn't post this, but I'm gonna. *laughs*


End file.
